Photo Credit: Neil Turner
During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Rt Revd Dr Robert Innes shares a message of hope and offers a reflection on his involvement with the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) and as Bishop of Gibraltar (Diocese in Europe).
Bishop Robert’s reflection:
I am privileged to be the Anglican co-chair of IARCCUM, a sister commission of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC). ARCIC does the hard work of articulating theological agreement. IARCCUM has the positive task of encouraging Anglicans and Roman Catholics to pray, work, learn and go out together in mission on the basis of the many things upon which we can joyfully agree. IARCCUM encourages spiritual ecumenism, the ecumenism of martyrs, the ecumenism of action and mission. It is about acting as if we were one so that we might become one.
During 2025, I was invited to three big occasions in Rome: the funeral of Pope Francis, the inauguration of Pope Leo and the visit of King Charles III to worship with the Pope in the Sistine Chapel.
The third of these events included a memorable symbolic action. King Charles was presented with a throne in St. Paul’s Basilica inscribed with the royal coat of arms and the ecumenical text "ut unum sint", ‘that they may be one’. We were told that, in Anglo-Saxon times, the maintenance of the Basilica of St. Paul was supported by English monarchs. The bestowal of a throne, therefore, drew on and revived an ancient bond.
It is said with truth that actions speak louder than words. The visit of King Charles to pray with Pope Leo was reported all around the globe. Their visible togetherness was something everyone could see and understand. And the giving a throne in one of the principal Roman churches speaks volumes about the healing and overcoming of historic divisions.
In a world which is polarised and divided, the Church’s mission to make known its unity feels ever more urgent and important. The enacted togetherness between the Pope and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England helps the world see that what unites us is much more than what divides us. It gives all of us hope and helps all of us believe.
About Bishop Robert
Bishop Robert is the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, diocesan bishop of the Diocese in Europe. He provides episcopal oversight, working with colleagues – lay and ordained – to shape the life of the whole Church through the Good News of Jesus Christ and, in so doing, proclaim God’s Kingdom.
Bishop Robert was consecrated in Canterbury Cathedral in July 2014 and has been a diocesan bishop since then.
Before his consecration, Bishop Robert was Chancellor of the Pro-Cathedral of Holy Trinity, Brussels. He previously worked in parish ministry and theological education in Durham, England and was educated in Cambridge and Durham. His pre-ordination career was in engineering and business consultancy. He has published works on theological and psychological ideas of the self, St. Augustine, work and vocation.
Bishop Robert was appointed Chair of the Church of England’s Faith and Order Commission in 2022. In that capacity, he is also a member of the House of Bishops’ Standing Committee and Vice-Chair of the Church of England’s Council for Christian Unity. He represents the Archbishop of Canterbury with the European Institutions. He is the co-chair of the Reuilly Ecumenical Conversations between the Church of England and the French Protestant Church. Since 2018, he has been President of the Council of St. John’s College in the University of Durham.
For more information
Learn more about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity here
Find out more about the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) here.
Find out about the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) here.